NYArts Magazine - = Resonance: On the World Epidemic

From: Subject: NYArts Magazine - Resonance: On the World Epidemic - Alison Holland Date: Wed, 9 Aug 2006 19:06:25 +1000 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0000_01C6BBE6.E9412270" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2869 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01C6BBE6.E9412270 Content-Type: text/html; charset="utf-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.nyartsmagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5652 =EF=BB=BF NYArts Magazine - = Resonance: On the World Epidemic - Alison Holland

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Resonance: On the World Epidemic - = Alison=20 Holland

Courtesy=20 of artist

French-born = Australian=20 artist Christine Maudy embodies the = adage of=20 "think local, act global" in ways that = have=20 guided her art, her lifestyle and life=20 philosophies that are reflected in her = rich=20 abstract paintings.
Born in Paris,=20 Christine=E2=80=99s artistic career = began as a fashion=20 designer before moving to Australia with = her=20 husband ten years ago to concentrate = solely on=20 painting. After traveling the world, the = family=20 chose to live in Queensland where nature = is=20 overwhelming and colours so strong and = amazing=20 that they look unreal.
Responding to = the=20 artist=E2=80=99s concern over the state = of human rights=20 in the world at the beginning of the = 21st=20 century, Maudy=E2=80=99s 2004/2005 = exhibitions in Hong=20 Kong, Madrid and Brisbane titled "Cries = and=20 Whispers" reflected her indomitable = faith in the=20 ability of the human spirit to overcome = this=20 state of affairs. The works were dense,=20 evocative, multi-layered abstractions = that=20 expressed a frustration of a worldwide = epidemic=20 in a lack of freedom of = expression.
Maudy=20 says, "The exhibition was for the people = who are=20 silenced. Whether it is the women in = Pakistan or=20 the suppression of religious beliefs or = migrants=20 being unfairly held for many years in = Australian=20 detention centers."
At a recent solo=20 exhibition in Queensland, Australia, the = Caloundra Regional Gallery embraced = Maudy=E2=80=99s=20 global knowingness by collaborating with = her on=20 concerns for local and international = ecological=20 issues and to "celebrate the poetry, the = beauty=20 and the vulnerability of our=20 environment."
The show, "Earth Song" = was a=20 unique cross-arts event that combined = dance,=20 music, light, and multi-media art = responding to=20 Maudy=E2=80=99s paintings through = performance around the=20 works. It was Maudy=E2=80=99s second = exhibition=20 supporting Greenpeace. Through her first = Greenpeace show in 2002 at the Centre of = Contemporary Art in Adelaide Maudy felt = the=20 ability to deliver a personal message = and be=20 "part of the game not just = passive."
Having=20 studied psychology for two years at = Paris=20 University, Christine believes that it = is the=20 artist=E2=80=99s duty to contribute to = raising=20 awareness. Her paintings rely on color = and=20 texture as a means of expressing her = feelings=20 and to make things visible. She does not = try to=20 depict reality, rather show feelings and = emotions through visual associations and = colors.=20 Her abstract works are passionate and = charged=20 with emotions, and capture both the eyes = and=20 imagination.
The family=E2=80=99s = move in 1995 was=20 Maudy=E2=80=99s liberation to paint. "My = paintings are=20 part of my personal history and = evolution. It=20 was a choice to leave Paris and go to = Australia=20 as I wanted to paint full-time and a = studio=20 within my house were part of my dream," = she=20 says.
A journey to Africa in 1989 was = the=20 emotional shock that changed her life. = This=20 experience had a profound influence on = Maudy=E2=80=99s=20 work, and for the first time she had the = feeling=20 of being connected to the = land.
Trained as a=20 private pilot, Maudy has developed a sky = vision=20 that is reflected in her interpretation = of=20 landscape. She works in her studio = surrounded by=20 nature almost every day. Paintings such = as=20 Sundance express Maudy=E2=80=99s love of = her adopted=20 home, the organic link to her concerns = of the=20 environment and the pleasure to live in = a place=20 where you have over 250 days of sunshine = a=20 year.
"When I first arrived in = Australia my=20 work was full of relentless energy = wanting to=20 express itself, like the energy you feel = when=20 you are liberating yourself. After a = time my=20 paintings became more introspective and = I=20 introduced geometric shapes and organic=20 materials such as sand and paper. It was = because=20 I felt more settled and now after 10 = years of=20 living here, I try to employ both = feelings of=20 freedom and energy with a lot of color = moving=20 around, and at the same time ground the = work=20 with the geometric = shapes=E2=80=99=E2=80=94it=E2=80=99s like using the=20 right and the left brain at the same=20 time."
Maudy=E2=80=99s powerful = images gained her a=20 broad following. She exhibits regularly = in=20 Spain, France, Hong Kong, Italy and = Australia,=20 and is represented in private and = corporate=20 collections worldwide. She will show = next year=20 in Montreal, Hamburg and in New York as = part of=20 a group exhibition organized by a French = Canadian Association in March = 2006.
Feeling=20 her strength, Maudy is thinking both = external=20 and internal for her new series = "Resonance." "It=20 is my way to reflect on how people react = to=20 external events. Political events such = as=20 Australia=E2=80=99s new citizenship laws = and how the new=20 terrorist laws are impacting the=20 = world."

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